Express & Star

West Brom fan shares delight as Jake Livermore lifts spirits

A fan has told of her surprise after receiving a surprise phone call from her Albion hero as the club helps lift spirits during the coronavirus outbreak.

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Jake Livemore speaking to fans during lock down (Photo: WBA)

Slaven Bilic, Chris Brunt, Jake Livermore, Charlie Austin, Kieran Gibbs, Romaine Sawyers and Filip Krovinovic are among the first-team stars who have checked in with fans to see if they are okay.

Di Benton, from Wednesbury, is one of the season ticket holders who got a huge shock when she answered a call from Jake Livermore.

Albion’s skipper is on an illustrious list of her favourite players which includes Bob Taylor, Doug Fraser, Graham Williams and Cyrille Regis.

And the 71-year-old admitted she was overjoyed to hear from the midfielder.

“I was making a cup of tea when my phone rang,” she said.

“And when Jake started speaking I screamed. I screamed, I screamed and I screamed. I thought I might have burst his eardrums. I told him he had made my day, made my week, made, my month and made my year and he was howling at me.

“Once I had settled down, I told him how grateful I was and how he’d really lifted my spirits.

“I’ve got four beautiful grandchildren and this is the longest I have gone without seeing them.

“Two live in Birmingham and two live in Surrey and I’m always visiting them.

“This is the longest I have been in the house on my own for a very long time.

“And being 71, it looks as though it’s going to continue for a while yet.

“But Jake was fantastic. We chatted about my family.

“He told me how he is checking in with the younger players and Filip (Krovinovic) because he lives on his own.

“And he chatted about how much he is enjoying playing under Slaven and how Matheus Pereira’s English is coming along.

“We must have been speaking for about 20 minutes.

“I think it’s absolutely wonderful what the club and the players are doing to lift spirits while the country is on lockdown.

“To get a phone call like that out of the blue was amazing.

“And it’s really boosted my street cred with my grandson Dominic. He’s 11 and cannot believe I’ve had Jake Livermore on the phone.”

Livermore has spoken to a host of fans since the country was placed in lockdown.

“To be honest, I think the lads get as much of a buzz from it as the fans do,” he said.

“It was lovely to catch the supporters by surprise and hopefully put a smile on their face. We all enjoyed chatting with them and had some great conversations.

“We’re all in this together and it is a privilege to be in a position where you can have that sort of impact and show the fans how much they mean to us.”